Farris served during Korean War with USAF

Tuesday

Hot Springs Village resident Chuck Farris grew up in Iowa and was at Drake University when the Korean War began in June 1950.

Soon thereafter, in January 1951, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and went to Lackland AFB-San Antonio, Texas, for his initial training.

Surprisingly just two weeks later, he was moved to the Sandia base at Albuquerque, N.M., to work with classified ordnance.

Farris quickly moved up the ranks, becoming an Airman First Class in just two years.

The training included learning to load atomic bombs into B-29 and later B-50, B-36 and B-47 bombers.

He later learned the FBI had done a background check on him back in his hometown of Fort Madison. Once cleared, he was given a "Q" clearance.

Next Farris was assigned to the 3083rd Aviation Depot Squadron at Travis AFB-Calif., where he became a crew chief of a loading squadron with five men working under his supervision.

As Gen. Curtis LeMay sent in the big bombers to Travis, Farris and his crew would get to work.

On 30-second intervals, the bombers would land and taxi to remote secure locations within the base.

His responsibility was to assume the role of aircraft commander checking the bomb bay door operation and assure the bomb was loaded and secured properly.

Farris would also be sure to check the armament and electrical systems, re-attach the bomb bay doors and lastly return control of the plane to the pilot when he and the crew returned from their briefing.

To load the bombs in the old B-29s the crew had to raise the Superfortress six to eight feet to get the bomb in place. That process took about two hours.

The bombs would be brought out on a dolly and it took 20 to 30 minutes to manually jack up the aircraft to be able to complete the loading process.

Two loading crew members would work simultaneously, removing bomb bay doors.

When ready the bomb was put on slings, lifted into the belly of the bomber and secured with four pistons.

The hardstands where the aircraft sat were tightly secured by armed guards who were also a part of the squadron.

The bomb, which the men called "The Big Boy," had a flat front with lots of electrical connections around its center. Farris would put the atomic material on the plane and then it would be put in the bomb after becoming airborne.

Fortunately, Farris said there were no dangerous incidents that took place during any of their loading duties.

Asked where the bombs were dropped, Farris only said "outside the United States."

As time went on the crews worked on the first big jet bomber designated as the B-47. Farris said the wings were so big they would actually flex up to eight feet as they took off and landed.

And there were security drills from time to time as well when the men, each carrying a rifle, would be called out to the base to take positions around their storage area where the bombs were kept underground.

Farris said he didn’t know how many bombs were kept in storage. "That was classified," he said.

As for how the bombs arrived at the base, he said he didn’t know. One day they weren’t there and the next they were.

During the interview, Farris talked about the nuclear arming devise which he would be in charge of.

"It really made you stop and think what would happen if something went wrong," said Farris of the sobering thought of a nuclear explosion.

He enjoyed the job, which also allowed him to sit in the plane’s cockpit to run the necessary electrical tests and would also free up some time for playing baseball and football.

Farris was discharged on Sept. 29, 1954, 100 days early because he was headed back to school.

As a civilian he finished college at the University of Iowa with a degree in business administration. He then went to work for the Euclid Division of General Motors dealing with heavy equipment.

Later he worked with Martin Marietta, Brunswick Corp. and Eli Lilly as a quality-control engineer, product manager and other roles until his retirement on July 30, 1989.

The next day he and wife, Jane, moved to Hot Springs Village from Indianapolis, Ind.

They have one child, Tamera.

Looking back on a fascinating career, Farris said, "I very much enjoyed my experience during my time in the Air Force, every bit of it."

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